Cornwall puts Windies ahead on first day vs Afghanistan

Rakeem Cornwall

Winning the toss, Windies decided to bowl first and bundled Afghans out for 187. West Indies finished the day at 68/2, trailing by 119 runs

West Indies have ended Day 1 at 68/2. They trail Afghanistan by 119 runs. John Campbell and Shamarh Brooks will resume the Windies innings on Day 2. Twelve wickets have fallen on the opening day of this match, with spin accounting for most of them.

Antiguan Rahkeem Cornwall’s seven-wicket haul from the first innings rolled over Afghanistan for 187. The Afghan bowlers also made a good start to get two Windies wickets quickly, but the current pair have added 34 runs to the score to take West Indies to a position of strength at the end of Day 1.

Phil Simmons’ side will like to carry their momentum after beating Afghanistan 2-1 in T20I series and 3-0 in preceding ODIs. Afghanistan — which obtained Test status in 2017 — lost their first match against India but claimed their maiden victory in March when they beat fellow newcomer Ireland before defeating Bangladesh at home in September.

Afghanistan will be without veteran all-rounder Mohammad Nabi, who announced his retirement from Test cricket after the Afghans beat Bangladesh by 223 runs in a one-off test in September.